WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Just hours after across-the-board spending cuts officially took effect, President Barack Obama pressed Congress on Saturday to work with him on a compromise to halt a fiscal crisis that threatens the economy and his broader domestic policy agenda.

The failure by Obama and Republicans to agree to halt the $85 billion 'sequester' cuts virtually guaranteed that fiscal issues would remain center stage in Washington for weeks, crowding out Obama's proposals to reform immigration, tighten gun laws and raise the minimum wage.

The economic effects of the spending cuts may take time to kick in, but political blowback has already begun and is hitting Obama as well as congressional Republicans.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll on Friday showed neither Republicans on one side nor Obama and his fellow Democrats escaping blame.

Obama's approval rating dropped to 47 percent in a Gallup poll on Friday, down from 51 percent in the previous three-day period measured.

While most polls show voters blame Republicans primarily for the fiscal mess, Obama could see himself associated with the worst effects of sequestration like the looming furloughs of hundreds of thousands of federal workers.

He signed an order on Friday night that started putting the cuts into effect.

In his weekly radio address, Obama appealed for Republicans to work with Democrats on a deal, saying Americans were weary of seeing Washington "careen from one manufactured crisis to another."

But he offered no new ideas to resolve the recurring fiscal fights, and there was no immediate sign of any negotiations.

"There's a caucus of common sense (in Congress)," Obama said in his address. "And I'm going to keep reaching out to them to fix this for good."

The children we have in power better get this resolved - with NO MORE "CLIFFS" like the next one we have approaching in just 24 days now.

We are going to crush 2 million jobs, layoff hundreds of thousands of people, gut the Defense Dept, and there will be 3rd and 4th order effects of this that have not even been realized yet.

Here is what both sides should do: Accept the lastest Simpson-Bowles plan that has a combination of real Entitlement reform with tax reform, and be done with it. Both sides can take political cover by pointing to the plan.

Even the Canadians (of both parties) are telling American politicians they have gone insane.

Just watched the sequester piece on NBC Sunday Today and mostly the typical farce. Peter Alexander’s story included half a dozen tweets condemning the government for not settling the issue and cutting services to the folks. Not a one pointing out the farce that it all is. Then Lester Holt parroting Obama’s previous dire predictions-he must not have been watching Friday-in a discussion with David Gregory. When he asks Gregory if we the people could get this done by pressuring the politicians Gregory starts stuttering and almost chokes as he has to admit Obama put on the full PR press on this leading up to this week and it failed.

$44 billion cut in the rate of growth? Not a big deal, unless you’re Barack Hussein Obama, doing the same thing Hitler did to the Jews, Stalin did to the Kulaks, and Castro did to Batista- blame some outside entity for his own destruction...this time it’s the Republicans (and like the Jews, Kulaks, and Batista, the GOP seems helpless to fight him).

Only you and Obama seem to think that this minor reduction in budget to DoD warrants such a hysterical response.

And all five 4-star Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs (I even sent you the PDF link to the actual letter - you ignorned it), and Rep "Buck" McKeon (R-CA), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, and Senate Armed Service member Sen Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Sen John McCain (R-AZ), and Rep Jon Runyan (R-NJ), member of the House Armed Services Committe, and anyone else who still has their sanity.

“And all five 4-star Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs (I even sent you the PDF link to the actual letter - you ignorned it), and Rep “Buck” McKeon (R-CA), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, and Senate Armed Service member Sen Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Sen John McCain (R-AZ), and Rep Jon Runyan (R-NJ), member of the House Armed Services Committe, and anyone else who still has their sanity.”

Whatever. In the end, the cuts are minor, and the budget for DoD still well exceeds $500B. So these guys can say whatever they wish, but they exhibit the “can’t do” attitude of everyone who depends on government.

What you never answer (and I don’t blame you for ignoring it) is what CAN we do for $500B to defend the country, since a minor reduction results in catastrophe, according to you, Obama, and the JCS?

Look on the bright side: as long as they keep squabbling and pointing fingers over this sequester mess they made, Obama won’t have time to force any more of his irrational, counterproductive policies on us. And that’s a good thing. At least they’ll leave us alone for a while.

12
posted on 03/03/2013 5:42:00 AM PST
by jespasinthru
(Proud member of the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy.)

"Both sides better realize that the Sequester is not in the country's best interest - and therefore it is not in their political interests either (which they think is the only thing that is important)."

The way Obama is executing the sequester is not in the best interests of the country! I'd start with cutting the Kobe beef, $300 White house wine, million dollar golf outings and General's Gulfstream Vs as well as the thousands of redundant and ineffective government programs. Paychecks were cut by 2% on January 1 with the increase in payroll taxes, and people are somehow managing. Obama can't? I thought he was always the smartest guy in the room. Too bad he didn't learn anything in 3rd grade arithmetic class.

* Reference: PJ O'Rourke's Circumcision Precept (O'R.C.P.): "You can take 10% off the top of anything" and and nobody will notice much if any difference.

13
posted on 03/03/2013 5:50:05 AM PST
by Sooth2222
("Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of congress. But I repeat myself." M.Twain)

Many employed people have had to take far in excess of a 10% cut just to keep their jobs. Or else they were pink slipped and had to find other jobs that don't pay as much as their previous ones did.

People in the real world have had to adjust to the "new normal". People in the bizarro world of government employment or government entitlements have been, by and large, exempt from the "new normal". That's why they voted for Obama - to keep themselves insulated from reality.

The weak in this country will not realize that they've been had until after it is a done deal.

The weak in this country, the vaunted 47% who rely on the Democrat's Federal leviathan for sustenance, will believe that it was the evil Republican's who killed their golden goose. Even in their death throws, they will fight any argument that opposes their view of a perpetual utopian society that was promised by the likes of Maxine Waters and her ilk.

18
posted on 03/03/2013 6:43:09 AM PST
by Thommas
(The snout of the camel is in the tent..)

Look on the bright side: as long as they keep squabbling and pointing fingers over this sequester mess they made, Obama wont have time to force any more of his irrational, counterproductive policies on us. And thats a good thing. At least theyll leave us alone for a while.

The Republicans have a golden opportunity to capitalize on Obama's hysterical rhetoric.

When Obama tries this again, with the debate over the debt limit, Republicans can counter with,

Maybe it will start to wake folks up about how bad the Obama/Democrats trashed the economy and the people with it. Many folks (me included) have lost ground over the last few years with stagnant pay and rising costs. I'm also among the "evil government employees" and will see a 12%-15% drop in take-home pay this year due to the sequestration. I still feel that the sequestration is better than having the Repubs cave and allow the Dims to raise taxes because whenever they do that, they raise spending even more so they can cry about how the People need to give and sacrifice "just a little bit more for the common good".

20
posted on 03/03/2013 7:08:09 AM PST
by trebb
(Where in the the hell has my country gone?)

It’s not “unprecedented” by your the chart you posted until 2018 or 2019. Plenty of time to get serious about real cuts (e.g. Joint Strike Fighter). The whining from the usual suspects in my area has been immense and music to my ears. I could lose my job later this year. But cuts are absolutely necessary because the alternative is losing the economic race to China. Defense work, as currently configured, is a net negative for the economy. Far too much useless crap is being built at incredibly high overhead costs (i.e. paying for useless people).

It is an interesting tactic you adopt - you refuse to acknowledge something as simple as a PDF letter signed by seven 4-star Generals to the Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee (Rep "Buck" McKeon) back in January of this year, but then you want me to detail line by line the justification for four military services, hundreds of missions, and millions of personnel.

The military is completely answerable to Congress. The House and Senate Appropriations bills have to justify everything. If there are systems to be cancelled or troop strength taken down, it is in there. Currently, the Army must draw down 179,000 troops, the Marines some 25,000, and the Air Force some 36,000 before Sequestration.

In the same vein that you demand answers from me, I would like to you detail the justification for Entitlement spending in the same vein, starting with the houses that begin with the letter "A." I would like a breakdown of how much is spent on eating out at restaurants, how many EBT cards are spent on luxury items, and how much alcohol and cigarettes are purchased with Social Security money, and how much is spent at casinos.

The military will be forced to operate with a lesser budget - it already is. But the Sequester is NOT the way to go about it.

So? I read lots of things that are not true, especially when it comes to this sequestor debate.

Wait until people figure this out.

Apparently you think you have it all figured out. I for one am willing to take the risk that this is 95% hype (maybe even more), and perhaps 5% reality.

Sequester cuts get real for unemployed Americans

So too does uncontrolled spending by the Federal government, and it affects every one of us.

The children we have in power better get this resolved - with NO MORE "CLIFFS" like the next one we have approaching in just 24 days now.

I know of no children in power, just poiliticans, and politicians only worry about being re-elected. So don't hold your breath for them to resolve anything.

We are going to crush 2 million jobs, layoff hundreds of thousands of people, gut the Defense Dept, and there will be 3rd and 4th order effects of this that have not even been realized yet.

I can see you have bought into the hype that 85 billion removed from a 3.8 trillion budget is going to wreak untold havoc. Sorry I don't buy it. I guess we will see who is right.

Here is what both sides should do: Accept the lastest Simpson-Bowles plan that has a combination of real Entitlement reform with tax reform, and be done with it. Both sides can take political cover by pointing to the plan.

Might help, but only Democrats would get cover. Republicans would be held responsible as they are in this sequestor. After all it was Obama;s plan, but now it is Republicans who are taking the heat. Because after all they voted for it. Neither party though has the courage to actually do something as it will cause pain for someone, and no politician wants to be held responsible for being responsible. It is much easier to point fingers and lay the blame on the other guy, or kick the can further down the road for someone else to deal with.

Even the Canadians (of both parties) are telling American politicians they have gone insane.

I think a lot of Americans think this too, for various different reasons.

“It is an interesting tactic you adopt - you refuse to acknowledge something as simple as a PDF letter signed by seven 4-star Generals to the Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee (Rep “Buck” McKeon) back in January of this year, but then you want me to detail line by line the justification for four military services, hundreds of missions, and millions of personnel.”

It’s pretty simple to say what you “Can Do” big picture-wise. The complex part is what the JCS is doing by saying what we “Can’t Do”

I’d rather say:
CAN DO ($500B++)
Defend the country per constitutional requirement

See how this works? The JCS, God Bless ‘Em, are behaving like a bunch of bureaucratic hacks. They focus on “Can’t Do” rather than saying “Gee, there ought to be SOMETHING we can do with a $500B++ budget”

So spare me the whining of Generals.

Lead or resign. That’s the job of the JCS. I don’t care about anything else.

The extension and availability of unemployment is what keeps millions on the dole. If unemployment was harder to get there would be a whole lot more people pounding the pavement and willing to take the jobs being offered without complaining about higher pay or more benefits.

People GRATEFUL for work is what we need. And lavish unemployment benefits will always keep that from happening.

I didn't say it or mean it as a negative. I conveyed (unclear it appears) that people will start to wake up to what the Sequester really means.

I saw a poll that 30% of Americans said they had even heard of the term "Sequester", and of that I would guess less than 5% really understand the magnitude of what we are dealing with.

Hannity is a bore - he mocks it with music from the "Omen" and repeats constantly that it is "2.4% of all spending" about 1,390,0954 times each program. The problem with Hannity is that he knows he is being disingenuous - the Sequester doesn't touch 2/3rds of all spending, but I imagine all Hannity really cares about is protecting his own wallet. Good for him, but he needs to stop being truthful about how hard this hit Defense. I am an engineer, if he needs basic math lessons he can e-mail me.

For the rest of the nation, when Joe or Shaniqua find out their unemployment check is down 10%, they are going to scream bloody murder.

If you can't cut unemployment even 10% because you're afraid of what "people" will think you are weak.

There's plenty of other "people" who will be happy unemployment is cut...this means those on unemployment might get the idea they can't live off Gov't forever and others' tax burdens might go down as a result.

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